ISTANBUL, May 5 (Reuters) – Galatasaray clinched their 19th Turkish league title with a 4-2 win over Sivasspor on Sunday, crowning a successful season in which they reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Fans of the club filled the streets of Istanbul, sounding car horns, setting off flares and waving flags in the club’s red-and-yellow colours as they sang in the city’s squares.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The Turkish government welcomed a planned withdrawal by Kurdish militants as significant progress towards ending three decades of conflict on Friday, and it warned its nationalist opponents not to sabotage the peace process.

The main nationalist party, however, was quick to reiterate its opposition to any dealings with the militants.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – In an implicit warning to international supporters of Syrian opposition forces, Russia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that efforts to isolate one side in the conflict would wreck the chances of a negotiated solution and help militant Islamists.

Sergei Lavrov said the Friends of Syria group, which is meeting in Istanbul this weekend, had so far had a negative influence on implementing a 2012 accord among world powers aimed at resolving the war through talks among all sides.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Galatasaray flirted briefly with the notion they could achieve the impossible and overturn a 4-0 deficit against Real Madrid on Tuesday, their comeback a tribute to the attacking spirit of the Turkish champions under coach Fatih Terim.

In a stunning 15-minute second half spell, goals from Emmanuel Eboue, Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba had shattered the assurance of the nine-time champions and fired up the home side with the belief they could reach the semi-finals.

ISTANBUL, April 10 (Reuters) – Galatasaray flirted briefly with the notion they could achieve the impossible and overturn a 4-0 deficit against Real Madrid on Tuesday, their comeback a tribute to the attacking spirit of the Turkish champions under coach Fatih Terim.

In a stunning 15-minute second half spell, goals from Emmanuel Eboue, Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba had shattered the assurance of the nine-time champions and fired up the home side with the belief they could reach the semi-finals.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid, aiming to become kings of Europe for the 10th time, foiled a dramatic fightback by Galatasaray on Tuesday to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

Ronaldo, top scorer in the competition, took his goal tally for the season to 11 to make sure that Jose Mourinho’s side went through to the last four 5-3 on aggregate despite losing the second leg 3-2 in Istanbul.

ISTANBUL, April 9 (Reuters) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid, aiming to become kings of Europe for the 10th time, foiled a dramatic fightback by Galatasaray on Tuesday to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

Ronaldo, top scorer in the competition, took his goal tally for the season to 11 to make sure that Jose Mourinho’s side went through to the last four 5-3 on aggregate despite losing the second leg 3-2 in Istanbul.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish political party denied on Thursday media reports that jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan had told his fighters to leave the country without their weapons under a peace plan.

A weapons-free withdrawal by Ocalan’s Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as sought by the government, would be seen as a significant step towards ending a conflict which has dragged on for three decades and killed more than 40,000 people.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his fighters to leave Turkey without their weapons under a peace process to end a decades-old insurgency, the Yeni Safak daily reported on Thursday.

A weapons-free withdrawal by Ocalan’s Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as sought by the government, would be a significant step towards ending a conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s peace process with Kurdish militants faces a hurdle as the rebels demand legal protection to prevent any military attack on them during their planned withdrawal after decades of fighting, a call rejected by the government.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire with Turkey last month in response to an order from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan after months of talks with Ankara to halt a conflict which has killed more than 40,000.